Delany, Annie Elizabeth (1891–1995)

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Delany, Annie Elizabeth (1891–1995)

African-American memoirist. Name variations: Bessie Delany. Born Annie Elizabeth Delany, Sept 3, 1891, in Raleigh, North Carolina; died in Mount Vernon, NY, Sept 25, 1995; dau. of Nanny James Delany and Henry Beard Delany (teacher and Episcopal priest); graduate of St. Augustine's College; Columbia University, DDS, 1923; never married; no children.

As a centenarian, came to national attention with sister with book Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (1993), an oral history tracing their family life and their achievements as pioneering professionals; also wrote The Delany Sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom (1994).

See also Emily Mann's Broadway play Having Our Say (1995); and Women in World History.

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